Hundreds of Take That fans queuing to buy tickets for next Summer’s concert at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Photograph: The Journal.
EXTRA tour dates were announced after an army of Take That fans flooded phone lines and the internet in a desperate rush to get tickets for a tour starting in the North East.
But there was chaos after sites crashed due to high demand. Fans faced waits of up to five hours to buy tickets to see Robbie Williams on tour with the group for the first time in 16 years.
In total more than one million tickets were sold for their latest tour in less than 24 hours.
A statement issued by the band said: “We are speechless, truly and utterly shocked. This is the most amazing news for all of us. To sell one million tickets in a day is mind blowing and we think we’ll be in shock for a few days!”
The new dates were announced several hours after ticket lines opened at 9am yesterday. Sunderland’s Stadium of Light – where the tour kicks off next May – will now host an extra gig after the unprecedented demand for tickets.
Take That fan James Parker of Trewhitt road, Heaton, Newcastle, was one of the many people who struggled to get hold of the tickets.
The 22-year-old said: “I was really excited when I first heard Take That tickets were going on sale. When the phone lines opened I had two computers and my phone at the ready.
“It was a full scale operation and I was determined to get the tickets at any cost. But after waiting for several hours on Ticketmaster I got really frustrated and decided to go elsewhere.
“I tried various other sites and eventually used soldoutevents.com where I got my tickets for the extra Sunderland tour date. I paid £120 for each ticket.”
Thousands of fans anticipated the internet panic and queued at the stadium overnight to get tickets.
Many fans that were unable to go the stadium were left frustrated after sites such as Ticketmaster failed to deal with the sheer volume of people logging on to try and secure the tickets.
A Ticketmaster statement said it had “addressed” the problems. A statement said: “The knock-on effect is also creating problems for the UK telephone network. It’s been confirmed that it’s also straining to cope. Call volume is at least twice that of the Michael Jackson on-sale last March.
“We are working to resolve the issues and we are confident that fans will be able to purchase tickets and we ask that they keep trying.”
Fans logged on to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to complain about the situation. And the boy band used Twitter to urge fans to keep on trying.
Many fans waited hours to purchase tickets for the 27-date tour.
The group have announced dates in Sunderland, Manchester, Cardiff, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and London in May, June and July. They will also take the show across Europe.
They will play the Stadium of Light on Monday May 30 and Tuesday May 31.
Desperate fans queued for hours outside Sunderland Stadium of Light in the hope of securing tickets for the Take That tour next summer.
The Wearside football stadium was home to thousands of people as they avoided the internet chaos in a bid to get tickets more easily.
Mary Jolly of Westerhope, Newcastle, was queuing to buy eight tickets. The 60-year-old said: “I cannot wait to see them. It will be an amazing show.
“I think it will be brilliant to see Robbie back. I think all the lads will be better. They’re not young lads any more, they have matured and I think it shows in the way they perform.
“Robbie has matured too, he is married and he’s settled down. It is lovely to see.”
Dedicated fan Helen Jameson, 21, had been queuing for five hours. She said: “I’ve not brought a sleeping bag but I’m well wrapped up.
“There was just a couple of people here when I turned up, and now look.
“It’s been a wet and windy few hours. It’s colder now than it was this morning.”
Alan Bell, of Roker, Sunderland was buying the tickets so he could see Robbie Williams – the superstar who left the band back in 1995.
19-year-old said: “I don’t really remember Robbie being in the band first time round because I was too young.
“But he’s the reason I’m buying a ticket. I’m so excited.” Some fans camped at the stadium for days to ensure they got hold of the tickets.
(This story was first published in the print edition of the Newcastle based Journal on 30 October 2010. The online story has an incorrect by-line.)